Metromix Cincinnati Interview - nice Jay comment

[remraf]

Hope this hasn't been posted...I did use the search function and toiled about the forum a bit, and didn't see anything.

 

http://cincinnati.metromix.com/music/article/jeff-tweedy-the-interview/1238829/content

 

 

Wilco is arguably the most popular high-credibility band in America—or the most high-cred band that’s actually popular. From their formation out of the ashes of alt-country godfathers Uncle Tupelo in the mid-‘90s to their explosion with the two-CD “Being There” album in 1996 to their personal and professional chaos of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”—finally released in 2002 and considered by many their finest hour—there has rarely been a dull moment.

 

Along the way, the Chicago-based band has been dogged not just by adulation, but by expectation—that they should still be a country or roots band, that they should push the envelope with each record, that they should take up the mantle, since their enlisting of experimental guitarist Nels Cline, of being “the American Radiohead.”

 

We talked to singer/songwriter Jeff Tweedy—one of only two original members still in the band—about Wilco’s eponymous new record, influential singers, the groups’ set of rhinestone-encrusted, country-and-western Nudie suits, and his confused feelings about Jay Bennett, the ex-Wilco multi-instrumentalist and one of the architects of the “Yankee” sound, who died in his sleep on May 24, shortly after suing Tweedy for breach of contract.

 

So how’s the tour going? You’re just back from Europe, I think?

Not all of Europe, just Spain. And two shows in Portugal. Just the parts of Europe you really want to go to. Spain’s been really, really good to Wilco, so it’s been fun to go there. Kind of not that normal to do a whole tour or Spain, but that’s what we just did and it was glorious.

 

From the fans’ point of view, it seems like each of your records has a specific sound or style—“Yankee” is considered the experimental one, “Summer Teeth” is the ‘60s orchestral one, and so on. I wonder, does it seem that deliberate when you’re working on them? And if so, what were you going for with the new one? It sounds to me like a collection of good songs, but with no specific historical reference.

Um, it’s got a camel on the cover—so I don’t know what more people can want.

 

I’ve got several thousand records, and I don’t think there’s a camel among them. You’ve staked out new territory, I think.

Well it was very tricky to make sure it was a Bactrian camel and not a dromedary, or else it would have been shilling for a cigarette company. But I don’t know—I understand that it feels like all those Wilco records have that narrative from the get-go, but in most cases that’s something that’s been attached as it’s gone on. And this record doesn’t come with a built-in backstory. “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” had the record company stuff, “A Ghost is Born” had rehab or whatever, “Sky Blue Sky” was post-rehab or whatever. I think it’s okay to sound like a Wilco record. Having had records that people have claimed sound very different for so long…it’s never been our intention not to sound like ourselves. I think this record incorporated most of the other periods into an overall package—if anything, it’s the Whitman’s sampler record.

 

Does that have anything to do with calling it “Wilco (the album)” and having a song called “Wilco (the song)”? Or is this a nod to Big Country or something?

I think this band, which for all of us, has become the definitive lineup of Wilco, has been together longer than any other lineup of Wilco and really feels like what the band was meant to be. When we did the residency shows a year or so ago, this band became conversant with all those other records, and was able to lay claim to some ownership. Whatever different styles we’d tried on those other records, this band is adept at them, and maybe this record grew out of that experience…I think this record is the least self-conscious and most confident of all the Wilco records.

 

Through all the different styles and lineups, the real constant over the years has been your singing. Wondering what were your earliest influences vocally and how you think your singing has changed over the years?

I’ve grown from forcing myself to sing in the early days, when I didn’t want to as much, into a guy who really wants to sing. It’s something I’ve tried to get better at; I try to sing in tune, and I try to sing in ways where I feel the lyrics I’m singing. It’s very intuitive. I don’t know what to say except that I really feel I’ve gotten better at it as I’ve gotten older, from a lot of experience I guess. From not smoking over the last four years. I definitely feel like I have a stronger voice on this record than any of the others.

 

What were you hoping to sound like, in your early days, before you started belting it out yourself?

Otis Redding! But that was not in the cards for me, in the hand I was dealt. Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Paul Westerberg, the Beatles, Joe Strummer, Kinks. Not usually country guys, but John Prine maybe—guys who had to struggle with some limitations, I identified with them. Jonathan Richman, for instance. I’ve always liked the guys where you go, “He’s opening his mouth, I should pay attention.” When I’m on onstage, I’m supposed to be saying something to somebody.

 

It’s funny, some of the people you mention are not technically great singers, but they communicate something real. I hear what you’re saying about limitations.

Limitations are really, really good for creativity. A lot of the world’s great technicians have a lot tougher time saying what they want to say. To be honest, I don’t have a lot of options, so I make the best of it. I humbly submit that I have worked hard to get better. Beyond that, I can’t see getting beyond even the first round of “American Idol.”

 

At last year’s Lollapalooza, the band wore Nudie suits, I think?

I’ve had one for a while, and had another one made. I like things that are sort of weird and out of context. I love country music—I don’t think Wilco’s a country band—but I thought it would be really fun to have one kickass set of stage clothes. We wear them very sparingly, because the fact is, most nights you put a Nudie suit on, you feel like an asshole.

 

Yeah, it’s sort of hard to go down to the corner bar dressed that way unless you’re Gram Parsons.

Exactly. The inside artwork of the new record has a lot to do with those suits. You’ll see what I mean.

I wonder if it was a joke on the country roots of Wilco? Do you still get authenticity b.s. from old fans—that you somehow betrayed the cause by not being an alt-country band?

I get bullshit from old fans from damn near everything that happens! [Laughs] Some people, I swear to God, just stick around for the sake of having a dissenting opinion and thoroughly enjoy being disheartened by us! So yeah, there probably are people waiting around for us to make a country record we never made.

 

I think it’s probably true of artists, in any genre, who change over the years. But there’s something especially zealous about the alt-country crowd.

I think there’s a psychology there that for whatever reason, people take on as part of their persona.

 

They are wearing the Nudie suit to the corner bar.

They’re wearing a psychic Nudie suit, of whatever they perceive you to be. And then they realize they don’t have any control over that—and when you change, there’s an enormous amount of resentment released, because they didn’t have any say in it! “I invested myself in this—how can you change without notifying me?” I don’t think it’s particularly healthy, and I don’t think there’s any damn thing I could ever do about it—I’ve known that for a number of years now, luckily. There’s no record Wilco could make, and this is going back to the Uncle Tupelo days, that isn’t gonna upset somebody.

 

Do you want to say anything about Jay Bennett, whether the man or his music?

I don’t have much to say about Jay. I really hadn’t been in contact with Jay for eight years now. Obviously there’s a lot of ambivalence there—from the unplugging of our lives from each other. The timing with that lawsuit is extremely unfortunately, obviously—I won’t comment on that. But overriding all of those emotions, it’s a confusing thing. The tragedy of it is certainly not lost on me, and I feel it very deeply. He was an extremely bright, and gifted guy, and I wish he was still around and I wish I could have seen him thrive and flourish, especially in the years he’s been out of Wilco. And I feel really sad [he] didn’t in the way he was capable of.

[dondoboy]

Thanks for that. Are those your italics at the end there or was it in the article that way?

[remraf]

Thanks for that. Are those your italics at the end there or was it in the article that way?

 

My italics for emphasis...upon reflection, I believe will remove them. Sorry for the confusion.

[HungryHippo]

thank you for sharing that on here, it was a nice read.

[jff]

What would be the best way to go about claiming rights to, and being payed for the use of the phrase "formed out of the ashes of Uncle Tupelo"?

[Central Scrutinizer]

Great, great lines:

 

"Um, it’s got a camel on the cover—so I don’t know what more people can want."

 

"... if anything, it’s the Whitman’s sampler record."

 

"I think this band ... has become the definitive lineup of Wilco … I think this record is the least self-conscious and most confident of all the Wilco records.

 

"I humbly submit that I have worked hard to get better. Beyond that, I can’t see getting beyond even the first round of “American Idol.”

 

"We wear them very sparingly, because the fact is, most nights you put a Nudie suit on, you feel like an asshole."

 

"I get bullshit from old fans from damn near everything that happens! [Laughs] Some people, I swear to God, just stick around for the sake of having a dissenting opinion and thoroughly enjoy being disheartened by us! ... They’re wearing a psychic Nudie suit, of whatever they perceive you to be. And then they realize they don’t have any control over that—and when you change, there’s an enormous amount of resentment released."

[nodep5]

Wow, he has his thinking cap on. Really seems in tune with things and observations. Anyway, I imagine it is hard to wear a Nudie without feeling like an ass most of the time.